The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chapter 1)
- Groups >>
Submitted by JStaller on Wed, 2008-09-24 05:29.
Alright. Here we go--the first chapter of Revelation. Highly charged imagery, dense Jewish symbolism, intense cultural and religious pressure, and a rich history of literature collide, producing (in my opinion) the greatest spiritual vision in the Christian experience. If you can enter into this vision, you will see Christ.
Shortly Passing (Revelation 1.1b)
Revelation 1.1b The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;
Here we have a matter of strong dispute between Christian camps. Insisting on the more literal reading, some Christians see Revelation as work of predictive prophecy, prophecy that must still be fulfilled, prophecy “which must shortly come to pass.”
Others find in this statement confirmation that the vision of Jesus, the revelation that came from God via His Christ, did indeed come to pass as Jesus foretold. To say it another way, after the vision was revealed to Jesus, “it shortly came to pass.” This reading of Revelation approaches the book as prophecy revealed--not as previous events predicted, but as recent (recent to the Revelator) or past events explained.
Right away I'd like to add that these two methods of reading do not automatically compete with or contradict each other. Just as prophetic works like those of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah had a very pressing if symbolic message for their original audiences, but also had through the Spirit a message that would bear later fruit in the person of Christ, so also may Revelation have more than one layer of application.
But, if the suggestion that Revelation reveals past and not future events sounds unrealistic at best—or apostate and blasphemous at worst—you may nevertheless wish to continue with our study, not for understanding Revelation as I do, but as a way of getting familiar with the complex metaphor, allegory, and imagery of Revelation. At the very least, you may come away with a greater appreciation for the sweeping vision of the Revelator and the spiritual conclusion the Book of Revelation brings to the Bible as a whole.
Justin Staller - Moderator
justinstaller@yahoo.com
Search the scriptures--for in them ye think ye have eternal life: They are they which testify of me--and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5.39-40)